Radboud Horizon Europe stories – Roel Boumans from Behavioural Science Institute shares his experience on finding partners and coordinating his first Horizon Europe proposal.

Through external expressions of interest  circulated among our internal networks of universities and research organisations across Europe, Radboud scientists can be invited to join applications under Horizon Europe.

Roel is coordinating a proposal thanks to such expression of interest that was circulated on his behalf. He managed to find a number of European and US partners for Horizon Europe Cluster 1 Health topic.

We have asked Roel to share his experience on proposal development.

• Do you have any previous experience with EU funding? Why did you decide to apply for Horizon Europe?

For previous employers I have participated in projects funded by European institutions. These projects more or less require the same approach, in terms of data to be provided in proposal and project phases. Although at times the procedures may seem bureaucratic, I can understand their purpose. Nevertheless they are time-consuming.

I wanted to apply for Horizon Europe because of the opportunity to obtain funding for follow-up research on virtual agents in healthcare. I hope that also if the project will not be funded, I have acquired contacts and options to resubmit a similar proposal elsewhere.

• In your opinion, what grant support tools within the Radboud University Support Programme EU were the most useful for you?

For me the most valuable is having regular contact with your grant advisor. They are aware of the latest guidelines, can point you in the right direction and can critically review draft proposals. Also the templates for documents and financial spreadsheets, and concept texts for standard parts of the proposal are quite useful.

• Coordinating a Horizon Europe proposal might seem challenging to researchers. What tips would you give to other scientists considering grant applications as a coordinator?

My advice would be to start early. When you start, the idea for the project is often not very clear yet in all aspects. It takes time to formulate your thoughts, convert them into a plan and find partners that are willing to work with you on that plan. This is not a linear but an iterative process. I would also suggest to compose a brainstorm team, that helps with sharpening your thoughts. I haven't done that this time but will certainly try next time. Furthermore, don't expect the other foreign partners to contribute a lot at the start. It really requires some pushing, and also doing a lot yourself to get things going.

I really hope that the result is sufficiently interesting for the European Commission to enter negotiations with us. Let’s wait and see.

Do you need help with applying for EU funding? Contact us: collaborate@ru.nl.